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Advice for film companies

There is no central office for obtaining permission to film at Oxford University. Colleges and departments, including libraries and museums, make their own decisions about permitting filming and in almost every case you will need to contact the relevant person at each place you wish to film.

General advice on filming in Oxford is provided below. Please note that Oxford is not a campus university and is administratively very devolved. This means that there is no single office which can grant blanket permission for filming on university and college premises. In the majority of cases you will need to contact each location at which you wish to film.

Please note that colleges and departments will take time to consider your request, and in most cases you should not expect to be given permission to film with less than a week’s notice.

Do you want to film for a news item or documentary about the University of Oxford?

The News & Information Office may be able to provide limited assistance but please bear in mind that we receive many requests of this nature and are not able to respond positively to all of them.

The nature of the assistance we can provide varies, but we may be able to assist with, for example, identifying who you need to contact to film at different locations within the university, suggesting suitable interviewees, or providing background briefing and information on Oxford University.

the name of the programme, including information on the station on which it is broadcast and audience figures

a synopsis of or detailed information on the film

what and where you want to film – please be as specific as possible

who you wish to film – let us know whether you want to talk to staff or students, and whether you have already identified who you want to film

if the film is not exclusively about Oxford, please set out how the Oxford segment fits in to the programme overall

preferred dates for filming and how long you estimate filming will take

number of people in the film crew

when the film will be broadcast

Note that permission is not usually granted to film at lectures or graduation ceremonies.

Companies applying to film on university or college premises must hold valid public liability insurance.

All requests are subject to the approval of the relevant college, department, etc.

Do you want to use university or college locations for a commercial film or programme which is not about the University of Oxford?

The News & Information Office cannot assist with location finding for feature films, drama productions, documentary and other productions which are not about the University of Oxford. Please contact individual locations or Educational Media Services for more information. The external organisation Location Oxfordshire may also be able to help.

Please note that production companies using university and college locations for filming of this nature will be asked for a facility fee Colleges and departments set their own fee rates so please contact the place where you wish to film for details. Companies will be required to sign a contractual agreement with the college or department, and must hold valid public liability insurance.

Do you want to film in other parts of the city of Oxford?

For advice on filming in parts of Oxford which are not part of the University of Oxford, including filming on public roads and footpaths, please see the information provided by Oxford City Council.